Caelen's POV
The sun in Auronis was cruel.
Not hot, exactly — just relentless. It didn't warm you. It watched you. From the moment it rose over the broken hills, it stared down like a judge waiting to see if I'd fail.
I pulled the hood of my cloak tighter and squinted at the land around me.
Same as yesterday.
Gray earth. Shattered stones. Dried-up roots clawing their way out of the dirt like they were trying to escape. The wind whispered across the hills, low and dry — a ghost without a name.
This was my kingdom now.
A place everyone else had forgotten.
A place even the gods had stopped looking at.
Except for her.
Elowen walked beside me, quiet as always. Her steps were light, even graceful, like she belonged here in a way I never would. She carried a small basket filled with dried herbs and stones she'd picked earlier. She didn't speak much, not unless I asked.
Today, I decided to ask.
"How long were you hiding your identity?"
She didn't look at me. Just reached into the basket and pulled out a pale, flat stone, brushing the dust off it gently.
"Since before you were exiled," she said calmly.
I frowned. "So… since I was fourteen?"
"Earlier."
That made me stop.
She finally looked at me. "Your father may have sent you here when you turned eighteen, but the soul contract was made long before. We were all bound to you before you ever knew our names."
I nodded slowly. I'd suspected as much.
"And you're… the Elven princess?"
"I am," she said. "Daughter of Queen Lysandra of Sylvaran. Heir to the Forest Crown."
I stared at her in disbelief. "And you chose to stay hidden? As a maid?"
"I chose to stay with you," she corrected. "Because of what I saw in you. Not what others saw."
I looked away.
That still didn't make sense to me.
Before the transmigration, the old Caelen had been useless. A drunk, a fool, running from his pain and responsibilities. What could she have seen in that?
Unless… she'd been waiting. Watching. Like a scout assigned to watch a potential weapon before it was forged.
Or maybe it was something else entirely.
We walked in silence after that.
Eventually, we reached the edge of the ruined foundation I'd decided would be our new capital. It wasn't much yet — just the remains of a stone hall and a few broken towers — but it had strong bones.
A few feet underground, there was a spring.
Elowen had helped me find it by casting a nature spell. The water wasn't clean yet, but it could be purified. It gave us hope. That was all I needed.
I knelt by the stone and placed my palm on the ground.
"System," I whispered. "Claim territory."
[Mana Source Detected: Underground Spring][Do you wish to purify and claim this location as Domain Core?]– Cost: 100 Mana– Warning: This action will trigger a Territory Beacon. You may attract attention.
I hesitated.
"Attention from who?" I muttered.
Elowen knelt beside me. "Mana beasts. Scavengers. Bandits. Maybe even worse."
"Worse?" I asked.
She stared at the ground. "Spies. Eyes that don't belong to mortals."
I swallowed. "Do it anyway."
[Confirmed. Domain Claimed: Cradle of Ash][Purifying Mana…][Initializing Mana Well…][New Territory Perk: Wild Growth – Crops planted within domain grow 50% faster under direct sunlight.][New System Function Unlocked: Building Interface]
I felt it immediately.
The ground shuddered. A low hum spread through the soil, like a heartbeat pulsing outward. The dry, cracked stone around us softened slightly. I watched in amazement as green moss began to push up through the dust near the spring's edge.
Life. Real life.
It was working.
That night, I sat alone beside the half-built stone hall and stared up at the stars.
I was exhausted.
Even with infinite mana, my body still needed rest. Using the system, casting spells, walking miles — it all added up. I hadn't eaten much, either. Food was scarce out here. Elowen had boiled some bitter roots and dried meat earlier, but it barely tasted like anything.
I didn't complain.
This was still better than Earth in a thousand ways.
I was free.
And yet…
I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
I stood and scanned the hills.
Nothing.
But the hairs on the back of my neck refused to lie down. I wasn't alone.
Far away, across the sea in the volcanic kingdom of Drakhal, a woman stood before a mirror made of obsidian and fire.
Her eyes were gold. Her hair shimmered like burning coals. She wore no crown — she didn't need one. Her presence alone bent the knees of generals.
"Has the Prince awakened?" she asked the mirror.
A cloaked figure appeared in the flames, bowing low.
"Yes, Princess Seraphine. He has begun purifying the Barren Lands."
She smiled slowly. "So it begins."
Back in the Barren Lands, Elowen stepped out from the shadows and walked toward me.
"You're being watched," she said quietly.
"I know," I replied.
She handed me a sealed scroll. "This was delivered earlier by wind-falcon. I didn't open it."
I took it, opened the seal, and read the message.
It was unsigned.
"We see the spark, broken prince. Be careful what you build. The world is not as quiet as it seems."